On the evening of September 24th, the Tang Xianzu Drama Festival & International Drama Exchange Month saw a grand opening in the city of Fuzhou, Jinagxi province, which was organized by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, China Dramatists Association and Jiangxi Provincial People's Government. Wang Zhengwei, vice chairman of the CPPCC, Yao Zengke, deputy secretary of the Jiangxi Provincial Committee of the CPC, Hu Sishe, vice president of the CPAFFC, Gu Liqun, deputy secretary of the Party Committee of the Chinese Dramatists Association, Xiao Yi, secretary of the Fuzhou Municipal Party Committee, Gahru, Minister Counselor of the Spanish Embassy to China and Karen Maddocks, British Consul General in Guangzhou attended the opening ceremony. Besides, British ambassador to China Barbara Woodward sent a special video address. Abdullah Miguel, Ambassador of the Republic of Djibouti to China, Consul Generals of Singapore, Thailand and Philippines in Xiamen, delegations of foreign sister cities from Shakespeare's hometown of British Stratford District, Cervantes' hometown of Arkara city in Spain and Lusaka Province in Zambia as well as Chinese and foreign scholars engaged in the study of Tang Xianzu, Shakespeare and Cervantes. Representatives of social organizations and delegates from all walks of life also attended the opening ceremony.

Wang Zhengwei, vice chairman of the CPPCC, remarked that Tang Xianzu is a great litterateur, dramatist and thinker in the Ming Dynasty, whose representative works are collectively known as the "Four Dreams of Linchuan", including The Peony Pavilion, The Purple Hairpin, Nanke Dream and Handan Dream. Particularly, The Peony Pavilion plays an overriding role in the history of Chinese and world literature. The “Four Dreams of Linchuan” is the mainstay of its era and a milestone with far-reaching implications on the development of the Chinese theatrical art, and it is thus hailed as a classic in China's theatrical and literary history. Four centuries later today, the artistic charm of Tang Xianzu's plays is still able to transcend time and nourish our souls. With the increasingly frequent and depended international cultural exchanges, Tang Xianzu's theatrical artistic achievements have evolved into a "common culture", shared by the whole world. The reason why we held such events to celebrate the Tang Xianzu Drama Festival & International Drama Exchange Month in Fuzhou and invited Chinese and foreign theatrical artists from around the world to convene here is that we not only pay a tribute to the classic theatrical master Tang Xianzu and his "Four Dreams of Linchuan", but also built a favorable platform for the exchanges between Chinese and foreign theatrical cultures.

Hu Sishe, vice president of the CPAFFC, noted in his speech that in 2014, President Xi Jinping delivered a speech at the College of Europe and proposed to build a bridge of common prosperity among civilizations, in an effort to connect the two great civilizations of China and Europe and let the flowers of varying human civilizations bloom. On October 21, 2015, President Xi Jinping delivered another speech at the City Hall of London Corporation, saying that Tang Xianzu and Shakespeare were contemporaries and both died in 1616; next year would mark the 400th anniversary of their deaths, so China and Britain could jointly commemorate these two literary giants, in order to promote exchanges between our two peoples and deepen mutual understanding. To that end, in April 2016, the CPAFFC and the Jiangxi Provincial People's Government successfully held a symposium themed "Jointly Commemorating the 400th Anniversary of the Death of Shakespeare and Tang Xianzu" in the UK, bringing these two masters together through "time and space". In September of the same year, they also jointly organized such an event "Jointly Commemorating the 400th Anniversary of the Death of Tang Xianzu, Shakespeare and Cervantes", which stirred up vehement social repercussions and was the first time to commemorate such three world literary masters together. It is of great significance for us today to gather here again in Fuzhou and celebrate the Tang Xianzu Drama Festival & International Drama Exchange Month; together we rambled and enjoy ourselves in Tang Xianzu's "Four Dreams of Linchuan", sapping the distinctive glamor of Chinese theatrical cultures.

Ambassador Barbara Woodward said in her video address that when President Xi Jinping paid a historic visit to the UK in late October 2015, the leaders of the two countries reached a consensus, thus ushering in the golden age for the China-British relations. It was in this visit that President Xi Jinping proposed Britain and China jointly commemorate the 400th anniversary of the death of Tang Xianzu and Shakespeare, two world literary giants. In 2016, our two countries hosted a host of commemorative events in Fuzhou, Shanghai, Stratford and among other cities, which further propelled the exchanges between our two peoples and deepened our mutual understanding. I wish this year's events themed Chinese and foreign theatrical exchanges a complete success!

With the conclusion of the opening ceremony, grand theatrical performances and interactive parades were held, with tens of thousands of audiences actively participating, which was spectacular. More than 20 state media outlets, over 30 foreign ones and 20 more provincial ones made their reports. The most mesmerizing and phenomenal performances were live broadcast to audiences both at home and abroad via ten media such as the People Live, Xinhua News Agency Live Cloud, Phoenix News and Today's Headlines and other live streaming platforms.

The event was hosted by the Fuzhou Municipal People's Government, the Jiangxi Provincial Cultural Department, the Jiangxi Provincial Foreign Affairs and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office and the Jiangxi Dramatists Association, which would last until the mid-to-end of November. The event mainly included: Tang Xianzu Drama Festival & International Drama Exchange Month and Drama Fiesta , The 2nd International Forum on Cultural Heritage and Innovation, International Theatrical Exchanges and Performances (UK TNT Troupe, the National Theatre of Albania, Japan Shiki Theater Company and other nine foreign troupes as well as China National Peking Opera Company, Zhejiang Xiaobaihua Yue Opera Troupe, Jiangxi Gan Opera Theater and other ten domestic theaters), serial public cultural activities (Recitation Competition of Tang Xianzu's Poetry, Opera Broadcast Gymnastics Competition, Dramas into Schools, Shows Themed Fuzhou's Intangible Cultural Heritages, Competitions of Classic Arias in Tang Xianzu's Operas and Selection the Most Beautiful Du Liniang and Liu Mengmei among public cultural events), all of which aimed to bolster cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, make the Chinese story and our friendly voices well heard across the world.